Maltiosh, Gracias, Thank You: The Language Situation of K’iche-speaking Guatemala Migrants to the Trenton Area

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the language practices of K’iche immigrants in the Trenton area. Through fieldwork and subject interviews, it aims to answer when, where, and with whom subjects speak the languages in which they are competent, namely English, Spanish, and K’iche. It also reflects on the language ideology of the speakers, how they think about languages and their uses in terms of diglossia and language ecology. Fieldwork revealed that K’iche speakers are undergoing a language shift from K’iche to Spanish after their arrival in the United States. This switch is related to their social position and access to symbolic marketplaces which regulate their language use and the language use of those around them.